Flexible coupling.



W. J; FRANCKE.

FLEXIBLE COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10. 1917.

1,245,695. Patented Nov. 6, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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FLEXIBLE COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10,19l7.

Patented Nov. 6, 1917. 3 SHEETS SHEEI A TTURNEYS WITNESSES I H.5TMZM @X W. J. FRANCKE.

FLEXIBLE COUPLING APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, 191?.

1,245,695. Patented Nov. (5, 1917.

3 SHEE'TSSHEET 3.

WITNESSES 6/ [MENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. FRANGKE, or HIGHLAND PARK, NEW JERSEY, As'sIGNoE TO FBANGKE COMPANY, 01 NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

FLEXIBLE COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 6, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM J. FRANoKE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Highland Park, in the county of Middlesex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Flexible Coupling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates tofiexible couplings, such, for instance, as are shown and described in the Letters Patent of the United States, N 01,029,355, granted to me on June 11, 1912.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved flexible coupling, more especially designed for coupling shafts of large diameter and arranged to compensate either singly or combinedly for angular misalinement, or for parallel misalinement, or for floating movement of the coupled shafts and without any tendency to push the coupling members apart or pull the same together.

In order to accomplish the desired result, use is made of coupling members provided on their opposite faces with jaws, and a yielding driving unit interposed between the opposite faces of adjacent jaws of the said coupling members.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a cross section of the flexible coupling, on the line l1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross section of one of the coupling units as applied, on the line 33 of Fig. 4; i

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the flexible coupling, on the lines 55 of Figs. 1 and 3;

Fig. 6 is a reduced sectional side elevation of one of the conical rollers, the section being on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a reduced side elevation of one of the antifriction rollers for the shims;

Fig. 8 is a reduced face view of one of the shims;

Fig. 9 is a cross section of of the flexible coupling; 7

Fig. 10 is a similar view of another modifiedform of the flexible coupling;

Fig. 11 is a face view of one of the wedges for' the flexible coupling shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is an edge view of the same;

Fig. 13 is a plan View of the same; and

Fig. 14 is a plan view of a part of the flexible coupling shown in Fig. 10 and with parts broken out. w

. On the adjacent ends of the shafts 10 and 11 to be coupled together are keyed or other wise secured the coupling members 12 and 13 provided on their opposite faces with jaws 14 and 15, of which the jaws 14 extend into recesses 16 formed in the coupling member 13 between adjacent jaws 15, and the jaws 15 extend into the recesses 17 formed in the coupling member 12 between adjacent jaws 14. Between each pair of opposite recessed faces of the jaws 14 and 15 is arranged a coupling unit 18, but as all the coupling units are alike in construction it suflices to describe but one in detail. In the general construction of each unit 18 use is made of a roller 20 and sets of shims 21 interposed between the faces of the corresponding jaws 14 and 15 and the opposite sides of the roller 20. The roller 20 may be made conical and in sections, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, or it may be made in the a modified form i form of a solid cone roller 22, as shown in Fig. 9, or in the form of a cylindrical roller 23, as indicated in Fig. 10. The rollers 20 and likewise the rollers 22 and 23 have their axes arranged radially relative to the axes of the coupling, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 1.

Each roller 20 is built up of disks disposed one on top of the other and gradually increasing in diameter from the innermost to the outermost, and the peripheral faces of the said disks are convex and bear against the middle of the corresponding innermost shims of the sets of shims 21. The several disks forming a roller 20 are fastened together by a central rod 25, the head 26 of rollers 20 are connected with a floating member 30 arranged centrally between the opposite faces of the coupling members 12 and 13, and for this purpose use is made of pairs of rods 31 provided at their inner ends with pivots 32 mounted to turn in .the floating member 30, the axes of the pivots extending parallel to the axis of the coupling. The.

outer ends of the rods 31 of a roller 20 are threaded and provided with nuts 32 engaging a longitudinally extending bearing plate 33 having a convex under face seated in a concave groove 34 formed in the uppermost roller 28. By the arrangement described, each roller 20 is free to move bodily in a transverse direction for compressing the shims 21, as hereinafter more fully -explained. The nuts 32 for the pair of rods 31 of a roller 20 are locked against unscrewing by a locking disk 35 having openings fitting the nuts 32. The locking disks 35 are held on studs 36 screwed into the uppermost disk 28 of the roller 20, and the studs are provided with cotter pins 37 to hold the locking disks 35 from accidentally disengaging the studs 36. The disks forming the rollers 20 are provided with apertures 38 for lubricating purposes, and the apertures 38 in successive disks are out of register, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 6. By this arrangement the lubricant can readily pass between the disks and thus keep the same lubricated to insure easy turn.-

- ing of the disks.

As shown in Fig. 3, four sets of shims 21 are used for each roller 20, that is, two on each side of the roller, and the shims are provided at the sides with notches 40 engaging guideways 41 attached to the corresponding jaws 14 and 15, as plainly indicated in Fig. 4. The outermost shims of the two sets of shims 21 at each side of the roller 20 bear against a spring plate 42 ground at the center to a radius equal to the radius of the roller 20 plus the thickness of the sets of shims, and this plate 42 is tapering toward the outer and inner ends, as plainly indicated in Fig. 3. The tapered spring plate 42 is fastened by a rivet or other fastening device 43 to one or more spring plates44 which bear against the face of the corresponding jaw 14 or 15. The face of each jaw is provided with a concave recess 45 into which the plate 44 is pressed whenever the coupling is subjected to the heaviest load, to practically render the yielding driving unit a solid unit for the transmission of power and without danger of an overload overstraining the shims and spring plates 42, 44. If desired, antifriction rollers 50 (see Figs. 3,4 and 7) may be set in the face of a jaw on opposite sides of the concave seat 45 and for engagement by the spring plate 44 to insure an easy bending of the said plate when the power is transmitted. By reference to Figs.

units having land 3, it will be noted that. the faces of the jaws 14 and 15 are parallel with the sides of the roller 20 to accommodate the sets of shims so that the latter rest against the said faces throughout the length of the shims.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 9, the conical roller 22 is made solid but otherwise the construction is the same so that further description of this form of the flexible coupling is not deemed necessary, it being understood that each unit can be readily substituted between adjacent jaws for the one with the conical roller made in sections.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 10, the cylindrical roller 23 is engaged by sets of shims 60, similar to the shims 21, and likewise provided with plates 61 and 6-). corresponding to the plates 42 and 44. The plates 62 in this case rest on wedges 70 fitted against the opposite faces of the jaws 14 and 15', so that this unit can be placed in position between the jaws of the coupling members 12 and 13, in lieu of either of the the conical roller 20 or the conical roller 22. 'It is understood that the wedges 7 0 have concave portions 71, as will be readily understood by reference to Figs. 10 and 13. The wedges 70 are also provided at their sides with notches 72 engaging the guideways 41 to support the wedges the same as the shims 21. The cylindrical roller 23 is preferably cut out at diametrically opposite places for the passage of the rods 31, as plainly shown in Fig. 14. Otherwise the construction of this unit is the same as above described in reference to the unit having the sectional conical roller and hence further description of the same is not deemed necessary.

It is understood that the flexible coupling having the conical rollers made in sections permits angular misalinement or displacement, parallel misalinement or displacement and floating movement of the coupling members 12 and 13. This coupling does not tend to push the coupling members apart nor to pull them together and, due to the bend of the shims around the rollers, it maintains its central position. The tapered spring plates 42 take care of parallel misalinement or displacement under all conditions with any type of roller. It will further be noticed that a conical roller used in each unit in connection with the tapered spring plate 42 takes care of angular and parallel misalinement or displacement, but in case of floating movement the small end of the conical roller slides on the shims due to'a cone rolling in a straight path. It will also be noticed that a conical roller made up of disks which are convex on the peripheral face and acting in conjunction with the tapered spring plate 42 takes care of angular misalinement, parallel angular misalinement and floating move-- ment, while the cone-shaped roller 22 is mainly used for angular misalinement and the straight roller 23 is used principally in case floating movement develops.

It is understood that for non-pulsating loads the shims are flexed only when starting up, and the wear which takes place at the point of contact is probably negligible. For pulsating loads where the shims are constantly bent and released the antifriction rollers 50 are used to reduce wear at this point.

Having thus described my invention, I-

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts to be coupled together, the said coupling members having jaws extending sidewise on the opposite faces of the coupling members, and yielding driving units interposed between the opposite faces of the jaws and having yielding means disposed radially and capable of yielding in any direction to compensate for angular misalinement, parallel misalinement and floating movement of the shafts.

2. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts to be coupled together, the said members having jaws extending sidewise on the opposite faces of the coupling members, and yielding driving units interposed between the opposite faces of adjacent jaws, each driving unit having a roller and springs on opposite sides of the roller.

3. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling membersladapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts to be coupled together, the coupling members having coacting jaws extending sidewise from the opposite faces of the coupling members, flat springs yieldingly mounted on the opposite faces of the jaws, and rollers interposed between the flat springs of adjacent aws.

4. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts, the coupling members having co-acting jaws extending sidewise from the opposite faces of the coupling members, the opposite faces of the jaws being concave, pairs of bunches of flat springs seated on the opposite faces of the together,

jaws and extending across the concavities thereof, and a roller between the bunches on the opposite faces of adjacent jaws.

5. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts to be coupled together, the coupling members having coacting jaws extending sidewise from the opposite faces of the coupling members, flat springs yieldingly mounted on the opposite faces of the jaws, and rollers interposed between the flat springs of adjacent jaws, the axes of the rollers being disposed radially relative to the axes of the coupling members.

6. A flexibl coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts to be coupled together, the coupling-members having coacting jaws extending sidewise from the opposite faces of the coupling members,'flat springs yieldingly mounted on the opposite faces of the jaws, and conical rollers interposed between'the flat springs of adjacent aws.

7. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adj acent ends of two shafts to be coupled together, the coupling members having coacting jaws extending sidewise from the apposite faces of the coupling members, flat springs yieldingly mounted on the opposite faces of the jaws, and conical rollers interposed between the flat springs of adjacent jaws, each of the conical rollers being made indisk-shaped sections.

8. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts to be coupled together, acting jaws extending sidewise from the op posite faces of the coupling members, flat springs yieldingly mounted on the opposite faces of the jaws, and conical rollers interposed between the flat springs of adjacent jaws, and the axis of each roller extending radially relative to the axis of the shafts.

9. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts to be coupled together, the coupling members having coacting jaws extending sidewise from the opposite faces of the coupling members, flat springs yieldingly mounted on the opposite faces of the jaws, and conical rollers interposed between the flat springs of adjacent j aws, .each of the conical rollers being made in disk-shaped sections having convex peripheral faces.

10. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts to be coupled.

the said members having jaws extending sidewise on the opposite faces of the coupling members, yielding driving the coupling members having 00- units interposed between the opposite faces of adjacent jaws, each driving unit having a roller and springs on opposite sides of the roller, the rollers being conical, rods extending between the coupling members and passing loosely through the rollers of diametrically opposite driving units, and bearing members on the rods and engaging the outermost ends of the rollers.

11. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts to be coupled together, the said members having jaws extending sidewise on the opposite faces of the coupling members, yielding driving units interposed between the opposite faces of adj acent jaws, each driving unit having a roller and springs on opposite sides of the roller, the rollers being conical and with their base ends outermost, the base ends having concave recesses, rodsextending between the coupling members and passing loosely through the rollers, and bearing members held on the outer ends of the rods and having convex under faces engaging the said concave recesses.

.12. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts and rovided on their opposite faces with aws and yielding driving units between the opposite faces of adjacent jaws, a floating member arranged centrally and intermediate the ends of the shafts, and rods pivoted on the floating member and connected with the said driving units.

13. A flexible coupling provided with a yielding driving unit comprising a roller and bunches of flat springs on opposite sides of the roller.

14:. A flexible coupling comprising bunches of flat springs, and a spring plate for the outermost springs of the bunches to rest against, the said spring plate being curved sidewise and tapered endwise.

15. A flexible coupling comprising bunches of flat springs, a spring plate for the outermost springs of the bunches to rest against, the said spring plate being curved sidewise and tapered endwise, and a backing spring plate fastened to the said tapering spring plate.

16. A flexible coupling, comprising coupling members adapted to be fastened to the adjacent ends of two shafts to be coupled together, the said members having jaws extending sidewise on the opposite faces of the coupling members, the opposite faces of a pair of jaws having concave portions, and a yielding driving unit intermediate a pair of jaws and having a roller and bunches of spring on opposite sides of the rollers, the outermost sprlngs resting on the faces of the jaws and spanning the said concave portions.

WILLIAM J. FRANOKE. 

